In case you didn’t know,  2018 is the Year of the Dog according to the Chinese calendar, and it starts February 16th (the Chinese New Year) and lasts until February 4, 2019.

People who are born in a Year of the Dog (which are the years 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, and 2018 – and for those of  you who like to do a bit of family planning, the years 2030 and 2042), have the best traits of human nature. They’re honest, brave, friendly and faithful, loyal, smart, and straightforward, and they have a strong sense of responsibility and justice.  Conversely, they’re also apt to be stubborn, self-righteous, critical of others and not always adept in social outings. Because they like to get to the bottom of things, they can rub people the wrong way with criticism, suspicion, and fussiness. 

If you were born in a Year of the Dog, don’t get too cocky. It’s said that people who are in their birth-sign year will have bad luck for the duration of that year. Why? Because you offended Tai Sui, originally a star that evolved into the God of Age that has been worshipped by the Chinese for generations. Because Tai Sui orbited earth every 12 years, he brings misfortune to people in the zodiac year matching their year of birth.

If this is your birth year, you’re advised to be more careful in all aspects of your life in 2018, including making big decisions about your career, health, love, etc. According to ancient Chinese superstition, the best way to avoid bad luck is to wear red. Red underwear, red socks, red scrunchies, a red belt, red shoes – you get the idea.  To complicate things, you can’t buy the red item yourself. It has to be bought by a spouse, family member, or friend.

What’s this got to do with purebred dogs? Probably nothing, though if you’re a competitor in the show ring or performance event, and this is your year, you might throw on something red to hedge your bets.

We weren’t able to learn what happens if your dog was born in the Year of the Dog, but for grins, you can check your dog’s personality traits as determined by his or her horoscope sign here.